Well, after deliberating about whether I should leave this unique bass on the wall at GC, or whether I should give it some TLC, I decided to give the bass the care it needed. Leroy let me take the bass on approval for a client, and I told him I would get the bass back to tip top shape again no matter what. When I got it home, the electronics were not working due to batteries that went dead in 2008 and had corroded at the terminals onto the battery clips. Someone had tried to remove them at some point and torn the terminals right out of the batteries! It was a quick fix with the solder gun once I had replacement battery clips. Now the electronics are perfect.
Then I took on the task of removing the painted on additional finish on the neck and headstock. The original finish was fully intact underneath, and I have no idea why that top coat was applied in the first place. It also afforded a much better view of the headstock ears which turned out to be purple heart. This was a big relief since there was no evidence or replacement or damage there. The finish did have some cracks at the headstock/neck transition, and I do suspect there was some trauma to the wood there, but the cracking is slight and it is clear the headstock did not crack off or become dislodged.
From there the bass just needed a few little things like the correct pickup selector knob, to straighten a Q switch, The bridge saddle slots lowered, and a mill and crown on the frets. After all of this restoration, the bass plays great, sounds good, and is almost worth the money they are asking.
What this bass has going for it is it is a rare model, and it has a unique neck construction. I have never seen another like it. It is a long scale bass and came with a flight case which indicates it was used on tour with the Neil Larson/ Buzzy Fieton Band. I also have a new Alembic old style power supply and 5 pin cable coming to complete the package. With them, the bass is well worth the $5,500.00 price tag.
